Anti-Corruption and Human Rights
Introduction
Transparency and social accountability are key elements in the fight against corruption. Particularly, they have been recognized as pivotal to the enjoyment of human rights. In an institutional and political environment where access to public services suffers from corruption and obscurity, citizens’ monitoring of services, budgets and infrastructure play a vital role in improving the quality of service delivery and the protection of human rights.
Transparency and social accountability initiatives are being implemented worldwide to:
1) Improve citizens’ monitoring and government responsiveness, particularly through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
2) Strengthen governance and service delivery effectiveness at the local level.
3) Enhance dialogue and collaborative efforts between citizens
Corruption ties up and diverts funds, thus limiting governments’ capacity to fulfil its obligations primarily with regard to economic, social and cultural rights, such as housing, food, water or education. Human rights-sensitive anti-corruption initiatives first and foremost put emphasis on the negative effects of corruption at the individual level.
Featured Publications
(New Publication) Corruption and Contemporary Forms of Slavery: Examining Relationships and Addressing Policy Gaps
View the publication hereCorruption is an underlying cause of and a facilitating tool for practices arising from contemporary forms of slavery; it is essential to creating the conditions for a low-cost, low-risk, high-profit illicit trade in vulnerable individuals. Yet, corruption and contemporary forms of slavery tend to be dealt with in isolation, with no international […]
A Practitioner’s Guide for Corruption Risk Mitigation in Extractive Industries
A Practitioner’s Guide for Corruption Risk Mitigation in Extractive Industries 2016 This Guide is intended for policymakers, policy advisors, project/programme managers and specialists. It is a useful tool to raise awareness among government regulators, anti-corruption practitioners and non-state actors who are interested in addressing corruption in extractive industries. This publication aims to contribute to achieving […]
Participatory Monitoring to Improve Performance of Government Services and Promote Citizen Empowerment: A Success Story from The Philippines
Participatory Monitoring to Improve Performance of Government Services and Promote Citizen Empowerment: A Success Story from The Philippines 2013 This case study is of a social accountability monitoring project in the municipality of San Miguel, Bohol in The Philippines. The assessment was aimed at furthering an understanding about the context-specific factors that enable the success […]
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Anti-Corruption and Addressing Drivers of Corruption
Evaluation of UNDP Contribution to Anti-Corruption and Addressing Drivers of Corruption December 2016 The evaluation found that while UNDP contributions have been important for enhancing anti-corruption policies and capacities. Their actual outcomes, however, have been dependent on broader governance capacities and evolving governance systems and processes, and inadequate judicial capacities in member countries, which […]
A Transparent and Accountable Judiciary to Deliver Justice for All
A Transparent and Accountable Judiciary to Deliver Justice for All 2016 Opening up judicial systems fosters integrity and increases public trust without impeding independence of the judiciary. The report advocates for judiciaries to open up to peer learning by engaging representatives of other countries in capacity assessments to improve judicial integrity. It also encourages judiciaries […]
Anti-Corruption Self-Assessment Tool for Parliamentarians
Anti-Corruption Self-Assessment Tool for Parliamentarians November 2013 This self-assessment tool focuses on the role of parliaments in the fight against corruption and more specifically on the implementation of the provisions of Chapter 2 of the UN Convention against Corruption. It comprises a series of questions and checklists, answers to which will serve to identify gaps […]
Asia Pacific Human Development Report 2008 – Tackling Corruption, Transforming Lives
Asia Pacific Human Development Report 2008 – Tackling Corruption, Transforming Lives 2008 Asia Pacific Human Development Report 2008 – Tackling Corruption, Transforming Lives: Corruption is increasingly being challenged as unacceptable across Asia and the Pacific. This report shows why eliminating corruption that plagues people’s daily lives must become a priority. The police, social services, and environment are areas […]
Corruption and Development: A primer
Corruption and Development: A primer December 2008 This primer explores the relationship between corruption and development including economic growth, poverty, human rights, gender, governance, human development, environment and sustainable development. It considers how UNDP could integrate anti-corruption principles and strategies with its technical assistance to reduce poverty, realize the MDGs and promote sustainable development. This publication […]